Why This Lioness Suddenly Grew a Mane

Bridget the lion is 18 years old, and for most of her life has been mane free.

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Bridget grew her mane between March and November of last year. Vets still aren't sure why.

Photograph by Amanda Sorenson, Oklahoma City Zoo

PUBLISHED February 26, 2018

Bridget, a lioness at the Oklahoma City Zoo, is sporting an unusual look.

The 18-year-old female has grown a mane—although her extra tresses resemble more a beard than a typical male lion's mane. The zoo has been calling it her "mini-mane."

In a zoo blog post about the curious case, Bridget's keepers claim the growth occurred from March to November 2017. As of this month, veterinarians were still working to pinpoint exactly what caused the big cat to grow excess fur. (See 15 intimate portraits of lions.)

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Unlike other males at the zoo, Bridget's mane only covers part of her face. Her sister from the same litter has not grown a mane.

Embryos that were disrupted either at conception or during gestation likely caused the genetic mutation, Luke Hunter, president of the big-cat conservation group Panthera, told National Geographic in 2012.

"Alternatively, and perhaps more likely, the problem may have occurred during gestation if the fetus was exposed to increased levels of androgens—male hormones such as testosterone," Hunter says.

Male lions typically start growing manes at about a year old, when they begin producing testosterone.

Some males, like the infamous Tsavo man-eaters, are maneless, but a 2006 study found they may have evolved this feature to keep cool in blistering heat.

Mysterious Mane

As for Bridget, who was born in captivity, none of her fellow littermates have manes. Vets also suspect a medical condition may be the culprit, such as a tumor growing on her adrenal or pituitary glands that's affecting her hormones.

In 2011, a 13-year-old lioness at a South African zoo began growing a mane. Caretakers discovered this was caused by a deformity in the lioness's ovaries, which contained cells normally found in testicles causing an increased level of testosterone.